Moon River Rituals with Zita Christian, Life-Cycle Celebrant

Destiny is a wide road. Whatever path you traveled, Moon River Rituals celebrates the love that brought the two of you to this rite of passage. I write that story of your journey and weave it into the ceremony. For the couple, hearing their love story creates a prelude for making their vows. For their families, hearing the love story assures them that their sons and/or daughters truly love and are truly loved. For the couple’s friends, especially those friends who want to find their own special someone, hearing the love story provides a blueprint of sorts, an image of what love really looks like.

Unique Wedding Rituals and Handfasting Cords
In addition to the love story, my ceremonies are known for their unique rituals – Garden Gifts, the Celtic Legend of Nine Knots, Gifts from the Trees, Wind Horse, and lots more! You can see examples in the section below.

My favorite wedding ritual is a handfasting, the literal origin of the phrase “tie the knot.” I’ve adapted this beautiful ritual to use with one of my custom designed handfasting cords. Because my cords are all approximately nine feet long and finished with hand-beaded fringe, they’re ideal as wedding gown sashes! I’ve used the cord in baby blessings, too. The parents tie a small knot next to the large knot created during their wedding ceremony. There’s no reason why you can’t tie knots to honor members of a fur family, too.

Oathing Stones and Wedding Wisdom Owls
When a couple makes their vows while holding an oathing stone, they connect with the realm of the ancestors. They also have a tangible symbol of the most solemn moment in their wedding ceremony. I encourage my couples to incorporate the oathing stone with each anniversary celebration.

For couples who feel a strong connection with nature, they might make their vows while holding a “Wedding Wisdom Owl” and then place the pair in a moss-lined nest that symbolizes the home they’re building together. When a wedding blends two families, each child can then add an owlet to the nest. (Please see the gallery for photos.)

Spiritual, not Religious
Are you looking for a ceremony that’s spiritual, not religious? I can definitely help. In fact, I cater to the unchurched. Couples tell me they want a ceremony that’s unique — no boring moments, a ceremony that means something to them – no cookie cutter language, and a ceremony that doesn’t have any particular religious affiliation. My couples might connect with the “spiritual” through astrology, science, philosophy, ethics, history, nature, modes of healing, tarot, or something else entirely. Here’s what one of my brides wrote in a recent review of my services:

“One of my attendants said, ‘that was the most religious, nonreligious wedding I've ever seen.’ That’s because Zita was able to invoke such an intense feeling of love — a spirituality — without ever mentioning a God. Of course Zita has no problem bringing in religion, the point is she is a master at her craft and I was privileged to have her!”

Religion Lite
Of course, some of my couples do follow religious traditions. They come to me because their faith might not allow an outdoor ceremony, or prohibit certain music or clothing. Some come from two different religions so I create an interfaith ceremony that will feel comfortable for their parents and grandparents. Whatever the challenge, we find a way.

Zita on Youtube
To inform and inspire anyone planning a wedding, I launched the show “Weddings with Zita” on YouTube. This show features interviews with both newlyweds and top wedding vendors. If you’d like to suggest a topic, I’d love to hear from you.

I serve Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.

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How I cater to Offbeat Brides

Yes, couples have been getting married for centuries. That doesn’t diminish how special YOUR wedding is! Just the opposite. As a romance writer, I’ve heard the snarky comments about the predictable happy ending. Fans of the genre don’t read to see IF the couple gets together in the end. They read to see HOW. The characters in each book are unique. The same is true for you. When I write your love story, I seek to blend the truth that we’re all alike with the truth that we’re all unique. Of course, you see the script of the ceremony in advance and have full approval. No surprises.

You want creative options. I deliver. For example, for a couple who wanted to incorporate the Buddhist path they’d chosen, I created a ritual called “Wind Horse” based on Tibetan prayer flags. What brought another couple together was their shared reverence for the forest. For them, I created a ritual called “Gifts from the Trees.” For a couple who loved to cook with fresh herbs, I created “Garden Gifts.” For an Irish bride, I used a replica of a large shell and created a ritual based on the Celtic legend of the nine waves. As they took turns swirling the water to make nine waves, I read nine blessings for their future, each based on their past. For a couple married at a historic seaport, I created “Love Knots” – with advice from some romantic men at Home Depot! Most of these rituals created opportunities for several guests to participate.

One of the most beautiful wedding rituals is the handfasting. As I tell all my couples, you don’t have to be Celtic to incorporate this age-old tradition of tying the knot. My version of the ritual adds some unexpected humor.

Want to create a family heirloom? The handfasting cords I make are about nine feet long, long enough for the parents to tie a new knot as part of a baby blessing.

My goal is to make everything about your ceremony, from the rituals to the love story, both meaningful and truly personal. Here's what one of my couples had to say:
“Zita just brings out all the warm and fuzzy in you! The family and friends at our wedding told us they had never been to a wedding like ours. It was the farthest thing from boring. It was funny yet spiritual. It made you laugh and cry. I had one friend, a guy in his early 20s, say that the ceremony was his favorite part of the wedding, which means a lot because our reception was at the Society Room with excellent food, an open bar, and we had a really really good DJ!!! … Every bride and groom deserves the kind of ceremony I have only seen done by Zita.” – Latitia and Eloyd

"We found Zita through the officiant of mutual friends – and we are SO glad we did. The instant we met her we knew she would be perfect. She's the kindest, most professional officiant we could imagine having, and was so invested in communicating our love story in the best way possible. It was everything we wanted, and more. Our guests kept coming us to us saying what a beautiful ceremony we had, which is exactly what we hoped for – we'd been to several weddings where you just kind of gloss over the ceremony and wait for the reception. But we wanted it to be special, and Zita made it absolutely perfect. We could not recommend her more highly! She will work with you to provide the best ceremony for you, and has a bunch of different options, rituals, and suggestions that really shape your ceremony to make it meaningful. We had a great time working with her. " – Jessica (CT Ceremony Oct 2016)

Couples who book my services as a wedding officiant receive a free Wedding Wish Jar featuring a handmade pottery jar with two hearts carved of semiprecious stone ($49 value).